While social media for many of us is about filters, feeling envious of our friend’s holiday photos and following our favourite influencers, for Gen Z it’s all about being their authentic selves and discussing the things that matter most to them.
At Yubo, the social networking platform, what’s important is life, not likes, and creating a safe place for young people to make friends, find their voice and feel empowered. Last year alone nearly four million rooms were created on Yubo by users to debate how they can revolutionise the fight for racial justice – with one million profiles including the black raised fist emoji to show solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement. When it comes to education around other cultures, racial justice advocate Kaia (above) thinks it should start from a young age.
“I educate my peers on injustices and anti-racism when the topic comes up, or prompt discussions to be had. However, Black and African cultures weren’t on the curriculum in school, amongst so many important aspects that are in need to be implemented. It’s very important, especially living in a multicultural country, that we learn about the people we coexist with and learn about the other cultures around us.”
Unlike other social media platforms, Yubo is all about friends, not followers, and there’s not an influencer in sight trying to sell you something. Because Yubo focusses on live-streaming, users don’t need to post, hoping for likes, they can broadcast in real-time to discuss the issues most important to them. And others can tune in to share in the experience, to chat, debate and build genuine connections – that go way beyond the usual #followforfollow.
Influencer and LGBTQI+ ambassador Coach Woodzy aims to use the platform to help others. Over two million profiles included the pride flag in 2021, with LGBTQI+ live streams increasing by a whopping 411%. Discussing ways of helping affirm others gender identities he said, “Ask yourself about the stories you make up in your head about others. Why is it so hard to accept their pronouns, why do you think they look weird in those clothes or with that haircut? Why do you think their name should be different? “
“The more that we notice the stories we build in our heads, the more we can get curious about those stories and work to unpack them so we can offer your best efforts in supporting everyone around us for being themselves— not just who we think they should be.”
Gen Z’ers have never known a world without social media. And Yubo is leading the way for a positive change against the pressures of perfection and the need for likes and follows, with over five million rooms dedicated to giving users a safe space to vent their frustrations, find a sympathetic ear and discuss ways of limiting the negative effects of social media.
Yubo is a place to be the real you, to socialise virtually in real time, allowing for genuine interactions and true friendships without the usual pressures of social media.
Whatever is important to you, whatever you believe in, you have a voice and Yubo is the perfect space for you make it heard.